Mr. Gund, who had lived in San Francisco for 45 years and was known to cruise around town on a scooter listening to opera music, was 75 and had suffered from stomach cancer.

Born in 1937 in Cleveland, Mr. Gund had an early love of hockey, movies, art and travel. The oldest of six children in a prominent family, Mr. Gund learned how much the family was worth only when his father passed away and left more than a half-billion dollars to the George Gund Foundation.

"George attended boarding schools and was kicked out of a few," his brother Gordon Gund said with a laugh. "He was more interested in the world at large than what was going on in the classroom."

'Zest for life'

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"He always had a tremendous zest for life and an adventuresome spirit," Gordon Gund said. "I think the military gave him his first adventures."

It also introduced him to San Francisco. He sailed into San Francisco Bay aboard the aircraft carrier Ticonderoga and was thrilled when the ship needed to be docked for a period for maintenance. He got an apartment in North Beach and began to explore.

"My dad liked to say that he was a Marine by day and beatnik by night," recalled George Gund IV. "This was in the 1950s, and everything was happening in San Francisco. He loved the city from his first day here."

After his military service, Mr. Gund attended Menlo College in Menlo Park, but never graduated. Instead, he threw himself into film and sports. In the 1970s, he began importing and distributing Eastern European films and encouraging film production in the United States. He became a regular at film festivals across the globe, and was known to take in a dozen films a day before spending his evenings listening to the stories of filmmakers.

Todd Traina, a filmmaker and San Francisco Film Society board member, said, "If it weren't for George Gund, there would not be a Film Society. I admired him greatly, and we will work hard to maintain and further develop the institution for which he cared so deeply."

Longtime friend and fellow cinephile Maurice Kanbar said, "He was just a wonderful man. We were on the Film Society board for 20 years together. He's always loved films. He was a very nice person, and I will miss him."

Team ownership

Mr. Gund also dedicated himself to the development of a number of professional sports teams. In 1975, he acquired a minority interest in the National Hockey League's California Golden Seals, which became the Cleveland Barons before merging with the Minnesota North Stars.

"We were involved in professional sports for 30 years," Gordon Gund said. "Together we owned the San Jose Sharks, starting in the 1991-1992 season and until the sale of the team in 2000. We owned the Minnesota North Stars and the Cleveland Cavaliers, an NBA team. We drafted LeBron James in 2003."

Gordon Gund said he and his brother enjoyed building a community around a team. They also had great times with the players.

"Hockey was a great love of George's - as it was mine," Gordon Gund said. "George played hockey all of his life and was very involved with USA Hockey at the amateur level as well as with professional hockey."

The San Jose Sharks issued a statement Tuesday, saying, "George Gund III will always have a special place in the hearts of Sharks fans for his role in bringing the team to San Jose. George was a trailblazer and he knew that NHL hockey could not only survive, but thrive in the Bay Area."

In Mr. Gund's memory, the Sharks will wear helmet decals and jersey patches bearing the initials "GGIII" this season.

In addition to his work for the San Francisco Film Society, Mr. Gund was a board member of the Cleveland Film Festival, a founder of the Cleveland Cinematheque, a trustee of the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, and a trustee of the Sundance Institute.

Collecting experiences

"He was busy and traveling up until three months ago," said his son. "He never lost that wanderlust. As a dad, he always wanted to bring us these great experiences, but he also was an example of someone who was simply good to people."

With a laugh, George Gund added something else that his dad was known for: his bushy, boomerang-shaped white eyebrows.

"There was a list put out recently of top 10 eyebrows, and he was on it," said George Gund. Amazingly, even after two serious rounds of chemotherapy, the bushy brows were undiminished.

'Sign of good fortune'

"He used to tell us stories about traveling and people coming up to him from all cultures and saying that such thick eyebrows were a sign of good fortune and wisdom," George Gund said. "He liked that."

Mr. Gund is survived by his wife, Iara Lee; his son George Gund IV; two grandchildren; siblings Gordon Gund, Graham Gund, Geoffrey Gund, Agnes Gund and Louise Gund; and his former wife, Theo Gund. His son Greg Gund died in 2005.

A public memorial, to be held at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, is being planned. The family asks that donations be made to the San Francisco Film Society, the Western Folklife Center, the Sierra Club, the National Museum of the American Indian or the USA Hockey Foundation.